Evaluating the Dual-Purpose of Chickpea: A Cash and Cover Crop for Agricultural Production Systems in the Southeast

Year 1 (April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022):

The project aims to provide critical data regarding yield, varieties, and management practices for chickpea in the southeastern US, including its potential role in rotational corn-based rotational cropping systems.

Objective 1: Evaluate yield, nutritional quality and N-fixation of chickpeas integrated into corn cropping systems:

• Germplasm characterization:

One hundred eight experimental chickpea lines and 9 commercial varieties (CDC Leader, CDC Orion, Sawyer Chickpea, Sierra Chickpea, CDC Palmer, CDC Frontier, New Hope, Royal Chickpea, Troy Chickpea) were planted on November 16, 2021. The plot size was 20 square ft. The trials were planted in alpha-lattice design with 2 replications. Data were collected on early ground cover (1-9 scale; 1=10%, 9=full ground cover); growth habit (1-5 scale; 1=completely upright, 5=prostate growth habit); % emergence; freeze damage (0-9 scale; 0=no leaf burning, 9=completely killed); days to 50% flowering (the time between planting and 50% of open flowers); Days to 50% podding (the time between planting and 50% of pods visible); biomass at 60 days after planting (Kg ha^-1); shoot dry weight/plant (g); root dry weight/plant (g); root/shoot ratio; number of primary and secondary branches/plant; Ascochyta blight (0-9; 0 = none, 9 = severe); Alternaria leaf blight (0-9; 0 = none, 9 = severe); and Botrytis grey mold (0-9; 0 = none, 9 = severe). The estimation of N-content in shoot is currently underway. The drone based multi-spectral and thermal images were collected three times at different growth stages to estimate NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and CT (canopy temperature). NDVI data will provide early ground cover and progress on ward. CT will provide stress tolerance in different lines. Multi-spectral and thermal image data are currently under processing. The trials will be harvested in 2^nd week of April 2022. At harvest, plant height, pods/plant, seed yield, and 100-seed weight data will be collected. After harvesting, total protein, digestible fiber, Fe, Zn, K and Mg in grains will be measured.

Table is showing mean, minimum, maximum and significance level for different traits. The genotypes showed significant variations for the measured traits. In general, experimental lines showed more prostrate growth at early state, higher emergence, better freeze tolerance, higher biomass, root and shoot dry weight compared to commercial checks grown in the USA. The mean primary and secondary branch count was similar between experimental lines and US commercial checks. Ascochyta blight, Alternaria leaf blight and Botrytis grey mold diseases were detected in the trials. Check varieties, CDC Orion, CDC leader and Sawyer showed high level of infection (5-6 rating out of 9) for Ascochyta blight. Multiple experimental lines showed high level of resistance (0 rating out of 9) to all three diseases. Though the experiment experienced multiple freezing events between mid-January to early March, many experimental lines showed minimum to no freeze injury. From the first-year study, we will select 5-6 chickpea lines for year 2 and 3 studies.

Objective 3: Measure insect and disease pressure in the rotational crops:

• Measure insect and disease pressure in the rotated crops:

Insect sampling in the chickpea plots began on 13 January 2022 and will conclude on 24 March 2022. Three sampling techniques were employed: 1) in situ counts conducted every other, 2) pheromone baited wing traps checked weekly, and 3) unbaited yellow sticky traps placed in the field every other week.

During in situ counts, chickpea plants were checked for beet armyworm, Spodotera  exigua, and corn earworn (Helicoverpa zea) caterpillars, leaf mines, and aphids. Other pests and beneficial insects seen on the plants were also recorded. Two plants in each of 30 randomly selected plots were sampled on each sampling date for a total of 60 plant. As of the 10 March sample. Few insects have been seen on chickpea plants. These included 4 aphids, 2 leaf mines, 5 leaf hoppers, a flea beetle, and a parasitoid wasp. A pod with two holes chewed in it was also noted.

Pheromone baited wing traps were used to monitor for beet armyworm and corn earworm moths. Nine traps were baited with each pheromone for a total of 18 traps. The sticky card in each trap was changed out weekly and the lure were replaced on 17 February. An average of 0 to 0.33 beet armyworm moths per trap were collected until 10 March when the number jumped to 1 beet armyworm moth per trap. Trends for the corn earworm moth were similar. An average of 0 to 0.22 corn earworm moths per trap was collected between 20 January and 24 February. Average corn earworm moths per trap increased to 0.56 and 1 on 3 March and 10 March respectively.

Thirty unbaited yellow sticky traps were deployed throughout the field to monitor for aphids, leaf miner flies (Liriomyza spp.), other pests, predators, and parasitoids. An average of 1.1 to 3.8 aphids per trap have been recorded so far. Leaf miner numbers have remained below and average of 1 per trap. Thrips were a common pest seen on yellow sticky traps with an average of 2.2, 2.4, 10.2, and 19.7 recorded from traps collected on 20 january, 3 February, 17 February, and 3 march respectively. Other pests noted included hoppers, flea beetles and an occasional whitefly. The most common predators were spider (Arachnida). Lady beetles (Coccinellidae), rove beetle (Staphylinidae), syrphid flies (Syrphidae), a big-eyed bug (Geocoris sp.), brown lacewings (Chrysomelidae) were also noted. An average of 4.4 and 7.6 parasitoid wasps per trap were collected each sampling week.   

• Major changes or problems?

The biggest challenge was determining what to sample. Chickpea is grown primarily in the Northern US. Therefore, some of its key pests are not present in Southern US. We sampled for corn earworm, H. Zea, because it occupies a similar niche in North America. Three species of Liriomyza that occur in Florida: American Serpentine Leafminer, L. trifolii, Vegetable Leafminer, L. sativae, and Pea Leafminer, L. huidobrensis, so we sampled for those.

Objective 5: Incorporate stakeholder’ recommendations in the evaluation of project activities, conduct outreach and training, and disseminate findings on the potential dual-purpose of chickpea in agricultural production systems.

• Our research team is forming a 10-member Advisory Council (AC) to conduct biannual advisory council meetings and Field Research Assessments. The goal of the Advisory Council's work is to shorten the time between identifying stakeholders' challenges and opportunities and adopting innovations based on the findings. 
• Team meetings: we organized several team meetings to elaborate and review the documents necessary for our research activities (Advisory Council and Field Research Assessment) to create the list of the research participants and plan the research activities.
• Research Documents/UF IRB Approval: we elaborated the informed consent, facilitator guide, and the Advisory Council's recruitment materials. We submitted those documents to the Institutional Review Board at the University of Florida (UF IRB) for approbation before recruiting the research participants. We now have full approbation from UF IRB to organize the Advisory Council.
• Recruitment Process for the Advisory Council (AC): we created the first list of ten potential research participants for the Advisory council composed of farmers, extension personnel, distributors, and food processors. We have contacted all of them. 4 people (2 growers, a seed producer, and a minor crop expert) have agreed to participate, and we had six non-responses. We plan to do a follow-up to understand if the six remaining do not agree to participate. Then, we will create another list of potential participants to recruit ten members for the advisory council. Also, we planned to recruit our research participants via phone and email. We will now try to recruit in person and make this change in our protocol for the Institutional Review Board at the University of Florida (UF IRB) accordingly. We hope to organize our first Advisory Council in April 2022. We will make a field visit and organize a team meeting to elaborate our research instrument, informed consent, and recruitment materials and submit them to UF IRB for approval. Then, we will recruit the research participants, schedule, and perform the field research assessment. 
• We have also created facilitator guide for the Advisory Council

 What we plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the project goals: 

Year 2 (2022-2023)

• Plant the selected chickpea varieties and one rye variety in rotation with corn at PSREU, Citra, FL and Florida A and M University (FAMU) Research and Extension Center, Quincy.
• Assess chickpea varieties for yield, diseases and insect incidence, and N-fixation.
• Assess N cycling, N mineralization, and the temporal release of N from chickpea residues over time during the rotational crop, corn, using traditional methods.
• Assess soil health indicators, soil protein and permanganate-oxidizable C (POXC), before chickpea planting, after chickpea termination, and after corn harvest.
• Setup an experiment at PSREU to trace ¹⁵N in the three most promising varieties. After harvesting of chickpeas, corn will be planted to evaluate N credits to corn, by tracing ¹⁵N from chickpea residues to the soil and corn.
• Quantify the major corn pests including the corn earworm (CEW), European corn borer (ECB), and Southern corn rootworm (SCR). Additionally, beneficial insects such as parasitoids and predators will be monitored.
• Assess corn yield, test weight, etc. at harvest.
• Collect and analyze economic data.
• Conduct biannual AC meetings.
• The Field Research Assessments will be conducted by small groups (maximum of 10 participants) who are convened ad hoc.
• Conduct separate assessments for growers and for technical advisors.
• Conduct four quarterly meeting of project team members.
• Present the data at the Florida Entomological Society, Entomological Society of America, ASA-CSSA Annual Meeting, Regional ASA meetings in 2022. We will also participate in upcoming field days and workshops.

Objective 1: Evaluate yield, nutritional quality and N-fixation of chickpeas integrated into corn cropping systems.

 Agriculture management practices have been widely used to improve soil quality and environmental sustainability. The overall goal of our research project is to explore the potential for chickpea to contribute to both the environmental and economic goals of sustainable agriculture in the southeast USA. For this purpose, we selected and evaluated a diverse set of 108 chickpea genotypes along with 10 US commercial varieties (Royal, Sawyer, Sierra, Troy, CDC Orion, CDC Frontier, CDC Palmer, CDC Leader, New Hope) for adaptation and cold tolerance under field conditions during the 2021-22 growing season. The minimum and maximum temperatures in the growing area were 24.7 °F and 91.1 °F respectively. Whereas we got 19 h of freezing temp during the growing season. The germplasm panel was evaluated for 23 different traits at vegetative and reproductive stages.

Out of 108 germplasm, 29 had a ground cover of more than 60% whereas 34 experimental lines showed a growth habit of semi-prostrate or prostate type. The dense plant structure in these lines significantly reduced the pressure of weed and improved the plant biomass. The dry biomass was significantly higher (49%) as compared to commercial checks. Eight of the experimental lines produced a dry biomass of more than 1000 lb/acre whereas the maximum dry biomass in US checks was 451 lb/acre. The average number of days to 50% flowering, podding and pod maturity were 104, 114 and 136 respectively in experimental lines whereas the US checks were a week late in flowering, podding and maturity.

We selected 10 plants per plot for measuring the plant height, average number of primary and secondary branches, and number of pods per plant. We found that 31 of the experimental lines had more than 15 numbers of pods per plant compared to only one check that had more than 15 pods per plant. The yield was significantly higher in plants that had more pods per plant. The average yield in experimental lines was 410 lb/acre compared to 167 lb/acre in checks. Out of 108 experimental lines, 14 yielded more than 900 lb/acre. Plant samples were also collected for N-estimation where some of the lines were high N-fixers that fixed more than 100 kg N/ha.

High-throughput phenotypic data were collected with a thermal and hyperspectral camera mounted to a drone. Data was collected around solar noon time in chickpea plots. Images of the experimental fields were obtained and formatted to tabular data by calculating the mean value of the pixels inside the center of each individual trial plot represented as a polygon area on a map. The relationship between the canopy temperature (CT) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated. The CT and NDVI are associated with the components of grain yield. The average NDVI value for the experimental lines was 0.715 while this value was 0.615 for US checks. Larger NDVI values are associated with greater biomass accumulation, high chlorophyll content, and longer grain filling period. In contrast, the experimental lines had lower canopy temperature values (59 °F) compared to US checks (65.3 °F). Lower canopy temperatures are reported to play a key role in the formation of deeper root systems, enhancing the dry root weight, plant access to water thus resulting in high yields.

The first-year study was also focused on the visual identification and classification of chickpea plant disease such as Aschochyta blight caused by the fungal pathogen Ascochyta rabiei; Alternaria blight cause by Alternaria brassicicola, A. brassicae, and A. raphanin; and Botrytis grey mold caused by the fungus Botryotinia fuckeliana.  Ascochyta blight and Alternaria blight were the most common diseases in chickpea field that affected some of the lines upto 50% though some of the lines were completely resistant to diseases. Similarly, all the lines were evaluated for their resistance to cold tolerance and many of them showed high resistance to frost damage.

Plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the project goals?

Based on the last year data, we selected 8 high yielding cold tolerant lines that will be planted in two different locations i.e., PSREU Citra, NFREC Quincy for further evaluation and validation in 2023-24.

Did you have any major changes or problems?

Due to late freezing (mid-March 2022), the seed increases were negatively affected by the abortion of flower and developing seeds. Additionally, combine harvester malfunction caused mixture of seeds of different entries which was an unintentional mistake. Due to these two reasons, we had low seed return from the increase block which restricted us to plant variety trials in two locations (PSREU, Citra and FAMU, Quincy) in 2022-23 growing season. We decided to increase seeds of selected experimental entries in 2022-23 growing season and accrue enough seeds for multiple trials in 2023-24 growing season. Due to these unavoidable circumstances, we needed to change the plan of research project. We are also planning to request for a one year no-cost extension of the project before March 2024 for successful completion of all the project goals. 

Objective 2: Assess N-fixation by chickpea and N credit to the subsequent cash crop, by combining ¹⁵N tracing at one research site (PSREU) on the three most promising varieties with more traditional N cycling measurements at both research sites and on growers’ fields.

The two-year experiment for this objective compares chickpea to other winter crops grown in a rotation system with corn, to evaluate the effects of these different winter crops on nitrogen cycling and soil health.

 In Year 2 (2022-2023), due to limited seed availability of the best performing experimental chickpea genotypes, two commercial chickpea varieties (CDC Leader and CDC Orion) were planted to assess chickpea N credits to a subsequent corn crop. The other three treatments were a rye cover crop, a clover cover crop, and a chemical fallow. Given the lack of experimental chickpea varieties available for Year 2, we established alternative treatments in the plots that were reserved for experimental chickpea varieties: a rye-clover mixture, another grass cover crop (wheat), and a disked fallow. Hence, the experiment comprised eight treatments in total. The mixture was included to assess the possible benefits of combining grasses and legumes, wheat was chosen as a cheaper cover crop that is adopted at the experimental station, and the disked fallow was used to isolate possible effects of chemical weed control on soil dynamics.

The trial was set up as a randomized complete block design with split-plot restrictions in randomization and four replications, for a total of 32 main plots and 64 split-plots. Chickpea varieties and cover crops were set as the main plot during winter. Main plots will be split into two plots received N rates of 18 kg ha^-1 (i.e., only the starter fertilizer) and 270 kg ha^-1 (i.e., current UF/IFAS recommendation) during the corn season (split in three applications) to evaluate N credits generated by winter crops.

Winter crops were planted using a small-plot cone planter at a single site at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit (PSREU) in Citra (FL) in 10-row, 9.2 m (30 ft) long plots with 19 cm (7.5”) row-to-row distance for chickpeas and cover crops. Chickpeas were inoculated with Cicer specific Rhizobium bacteria prior to planting to encourage nodulation. Planting in Year 2 occurred in December, but a mid-November planting is targeted for Year 3, to have an earlier harvest around late March or early April, and thus be better aligned with North Florida's corn planting window. All crops will be terminated following chickpea harvest in May, with the incorporation of post-harvest residues (chickpea) or the whole biomass (rye, clover, wheat, mixture) into the soil. Because the rye cover crop was ready for termination sooner due to earlier flowering relative to legumes and wheat, the rye and rye-clover mixture was terminated mid-March in Year 2. A grain corn hybrid will be planted in early May in the same plots to assess the potential of winter crops to provide N credits to the subsequent crop. Corn plots will be planted in six rows per split-plot, with a 75 cm (30") row-to-row distance.  

As part of this experiment, we will also label winter crops with ¹⁵N in a separate field, to provide enriched residues that will allow us to trace N from winter crops to the corn and soil pools. Those labeled residues will be added to microplots within each split-plot of the main experiment, using a 1.5 m² micro-plot (two rows of corn for a length of one meter). ¹⁵N-labeled crop residues will be evenly incorporated into the soil surface of the micro-plot before corn planting. Residue incorporation aims to supplement a fraction of the average residue biomass in the main plots (e.g., 25% or 50% of total residue will be added as ¹⁵N-labeled residues). Land preparation and corn seeding will follow, using identical methods as those used for the rest of the main experiment. Fertilizers will also be analyzed for ¹⁵N.

Chickpea and corn yields will be determined at harvest, in addition to cover crop aboveground biomass. Crops will be analyzed for total C and N (cover crops aboveground biomass, corn/chickpea aboveground biomass and seeds) in each plot in each year by combustion. At harvest, whole corn plants and three soil cores per micro-plot will be collected for ¹⁵N determination.  All ¹⁵N samples will be analyzed by combustion using an elemental analyzer coupled to a mass spectrometer.

Soil samples will be collected three times per year (6 times total): before chickpea and cover crop planting, at winter crop harvest/termination (i.e., before corn planting), and after corn harvest, to measure changes in soil health indicators through the rotation system. Potential net N mineralization (a 28-day incubation) will be determined, using the method of Robertson et al. (1999), and soil protein and permanganate-oxidizable C (POXC) will be measured according to Stott et al. (2019). Traditional soil fertility indicators (Mehlich-extractable micro- and macronutrients, soil pH) will be measured before corn planting to adjust fertilization rates, using an external laboratory. Samples were already taken before chickpea in Year 2.

All data collected will be analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), with chickpea varieties as a fixed factor and block as a random factor. When multiple measurements are taken from a given plot in a year (e.g., N mineralization), a repeated measures model will be used. Tukey HSD tests will be used for means separation, and appropriate data transformations will be used prior to analysis to conform with conditions of normality of residuals and homogeneity of variances. All analyses will be conducted in R.

Plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the project goals?

The goal for Year 3 (2023-2024) is to return to the original plan, with the three best performing chickpea genotypes added to the trial to replace alternative treatments. The eight treatments of Year 3 should be: five chickpea varieties (CDC Leader, CDC Orion, three best-performing experimental genotypes), a rye cover crop, a clover cover crop, and a chemical fallow. However, if seed availability remains an issue in Year 3, the same design as Year 2 will be used.

Objective 3: Measure insect and disease pressure in the rotational crops.

The spring 2022 season was concluded as planned. Parasitoids on yellow sticky traps were identified to family when possible. There were 19 specimens (out of 176) that were too damaged to identify. The most common families seen on traps were Ceraphronidae, Ichneumonidae, Eulophidae, and Figitidae.

Sampling from chickpea is again taking place this season. It began on 7 Feb 2023 and will conclude by the end of April. Yellow sticky traps and wing traps baited with corn earworm pheromones were deployed as in the previous season. The one exception is that yellow sticky traps are being left in the field for only 48 h this season. Aphids, thrips, and hoppers are the main pests seen on yellow sticky traps along with a few leaf miner flies. Spiders, lady beetles, rove beetles, and parasitoid wasps are the main beneficial insects observed on traps. At least one corn earworm was collected from each trap on 28 Feb and the population peaked on 16 March.

Plant samples are also being collected this year. Leaf samples have been collected every other week since 14 Feb. Five samples of 10 leaves each are collected from the CDC, MED, and CAT groups of cultivars. A few aphids and thrips have been recorded from leaves so far. A couple of yellow stripped armyworms and a European corn borer were found feeding on leaves. Pod borers were also collected from leaves in the process of moving from one pod to another. They are either corn earworms or tobacco buds worms. The caterpillars are difficult to distinguish from each other, so they are being reared to confirm their identity.

Weekly flower sampling began on 28 Feb. Five samples of five flowers are collected from each of the three groups of cultivars. Low numbers of adult male and female Frankliniella bispinosa, Florida flower thrips, have been collected from flowers, but no larvae have been collected so far. This indicates that the flower thirps are using the flowers as a food resource only and not as a reproductive host.

 Weekly pod sampling began on 9 March. Five samples of five pods are collected from each of the three groups of cultivars. Pods are examined for borer injury and opened to see if borers are inside. The highest number of borers and injury so far were sampled on 28 March. The borers are either corn earworms or tobacco budworms. All live caterpillars are being reared to confirm their identity. It is possible that both species are attacking the pods.

Plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the project goals?

We will finish this season’s sampling and sample processing. We will identify moths that emerge from the raring process to species and parasitoids on the yellow sticky traps to family. We are planning on presenting our data at the Entomological Society of America annual meeting in November 2023.

The next season will involve planting chickpea before corn. We will compare the pest complex in a rye/corn rotation to that in a chickpea/corn rotation. The sampling plan will be developed based on what we’ve learned about the chickpea pest complex over the last two seasons. We will also sample for common corn pests.

Objective 4: Evaluate and compare the economic feasibility of production for evaluated chickpea varieties.

We have developed the data collection instrument to be used for gathering economic data during the planting season in November 2023. The economic data collection instrument contains cost fields for several expense categories, including amount and cost for fertilizers, manure, compost, herbicide, pesticide, insecticide, seeds, tillage, seeding, harrowing, labor, and overhead. The instrument has been added to the IRB protocol #IRB202102861, which has been approved to conduct research with human subjects.

Plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the project goals?

The Social and Economic Research team will work closely with PI Babar during the planting season in November 2023 to collect data from their field experiment. Data will be collected on a weekly basis via Qualtrics. Both primary data collected through field experiments and secondary data (i.e., estimates obtained from public sources, such as local stores, federal and state agencies. and academic literature) will be utilized for the proposed analyses under this objective.

Objective 5: Incorporate stakeholder’ recommendations in the evaluation of project activities, conduct outreach and training, and disseminate findings on the potential dual-purpose of chickpea in agricultural production systems.

The project plan was to organize two advisory council meetings and a Field Research Assessment in Year 2. Freezing weather made it impossible to complete the planned field research assessment in 2022 because the winter crop was severely damaged. We now plan to conduct a field assessment in the winter 2024 and 2025.

Advisory Council/Participants’ profiles and points of discussion: We conducted the first advisory council meeting on September 26, 2022. We had to postpone the second meeting to June 2023 due to the change in experimental plan. For the year 2023-2024, we plan to have our first advisory council in November or December 2023 and the second one in March or April 2024.

Five individuals agreed to participate in the first advisory council meeting in September 2021.  The participants were a farmer, a farmer who is also a food processor, a seed producer, an extension agent, and an extension economist. The advisory council reviewed project goals and activities, the chickpeas and chickpea-based products identified in the market, the greatest potential benefits of raising chickpeas in Florida, the biggest potential constraints/challenges of raising chickpeas in Florida, possible collaborations, and topics for the next meeting.

The first field experiment for the project was conducted in the winter of 2021. The research team evaluated 108 experimental lines using nine US commercial varieties. The winter of 2021 was abnormally cold and the plants were exposed to freezing temperatures several times.  Only a few of the 108 lines were minimally affected. There were a few lines that adapted to the cold better and were not severely affected even though they remained in the field for the entire winter season. Some of them yielded 2000 pounds/acre. The team selected a few lines from the most resistant to the cold to test them in winter 2022. The team will also look at the benefits to soil health that chickpea as a cover crop can generate including nitrogen fixation, increased soil organic matter, and improved soil moisture retention, although these changes will not be great over the short term.  

We plan to conduct on-farm experiments to expose promising lines to the full range of variance under typical production conditions. We will use these growers’ experience and advice, the grower field assessment, and the input from the advisory council to understand farmers’ conclusions about using chickpea as a cash and cover crop. We will work with the farmers who elect to conduct field trials to understand the problems and the potential for chickpea as a crop in Florida. This will include growers’ conclusions about the utility of the chickpea crop, whether it can be profitable, and potential barriers to adoption. We prefer to conduct trials during the cool season because rain is more reliable in the winter in Florida, but freezing conditions can prevail.

The following comments reflect the key topics of discussion in the first advisory council meeting:

Topic 1: Greatest potential benefits of raising chickpea as a cash and cover crop in Florida

• Potential benefits for farmers, ranchers and others who raise animals.

Chickpea as a cover crop has the potential to improve management of nutrients through increased organic matter and water retention and reduced erosion.

Given the importance of the fresh produce market for Florida farmers and their long experience with fresh produce sales, Florida farmers are well situated to develop chickpea-based enterprises.

Existing lines of chickpea products demonstrate the potential for more product lines like pet foods and pastas.

• Potential benefits for ranchers

Raising chickpeas in Florida will help ranchers produce feed during the wintertime when grass production decreases.

Having chickpea could facilitate better winter rotation cycles.

• Potential benefits to other producers in the food system

Raising chickpeas in Florida will be a new opportunity for seed producers to increase their sales. Since the varieties that we are testing are already available in the seed market, seed producers will not have to produce other varieties of seeds that they are currently producing.

Growing and harvesting green chickpeas in Florida may add great value to processors who can build on the existing market base. 

• Potential benefits for consumers

Increased fresh chickpea availability in Florida can increase access to healthful food. For example, chickpea pasta cooks faster and has high nutritional content than traditional wheat-based products.

Topic 2:  Biggest potential constraints/challenges of raising chickpea in Florida

• Difficulties to reach farmers – We might have difficulties getting the full participation of the farmers we are targeting. Farmers might be concerned about messing up their cash crops by planting chickpeas during the cool-off season. However, if the extension personnel convince them, by informing them of the benefits (soil protection, saving, and making money), they might want to try raising chickpeas.
• Possible difficulties related to bad weather and water management – Since the biologists faced freezing problems during the first trials. That might be a problem for farmers if they will often have to face freezing problems too during the winter. Water is necessary for raising chickpeas. Therefore, having rain during the summer is necessary to have a good yield.
• Soil management and pest control – farmers will need to learn new ways to manage the soils and pests by adopting chickpeas.
• Access to the market – farmers will need to be creative to integrate the market by selling chickpeas in the forms that interest the available markets, and they need to have the volume required by the market.

People to reach out for the project: 

• Extension Service in Florida: to reach out to farmers (high interest in nutrient management), interest in a good market.
• Reach out to potential Consumers: we might need to organize tasting activities for different forms of chickpeas and chickpea-based products if the budget allows us to do so.
• 4H programs: to reach out to the youths.
• Experts: food scientists, nutritionists, and experts in cover crops (National Cover Crops Committee). It is important to include more insights from food sciences, consumer sciences, and healthy eating habits.
• Local Business: minorities food markets (e.g., Asian grocery stores) and other local companies to see what they offer that have chickpeas. It is also important to visit more pet food shops, to see what they offer that have chickpeas, and how prominent is chickpea in pet foods.

Points of discussion for the next advisory council meeting: 

• Conduct additional discussions concerning the market opportunities and challenges.
• Given the penetration of processed chickpea products in grocery stores, identify opportunities in the fresh market.
• Discuss the potential for repeated freezes affecting project activities and the potential ways to face freezing problems.
• Discuss possible farmers’ strategies to find out the best ways to manage the soils and pests by adopting chickpeas.
• Conduct additional discussions concerning events the team project might need to organize to reach out to potential consumers of chickpeas.